The Philippines possess a rich and abundant wildlife. These are distributed throughout the 7,100 islands in the Philippines.

Animals and plants have become extinct and new species have evolved since life began. Preliterate human cultures may have eliminated some species, but the primary causes for species to become extinct have been natural ones. Major environment changes resulted in the eventual disappearance of the species unable to adapt to new conditions.

Many species have been unable to make the biological adjustments necessary for survival. Thus more species than ever before are threatened with extinction.

Destruction of forests, draining of wetlands, and population are environmental changes that may eliminate species in an area. Some herbicides and pesticide can have severe effects on certain species. Many species have small geographic ranges, so habitat alteration may eliminate entirely. The logging of tropical forests, with there tremendous diversity of species having specialized requirement, has caused a steady increase in the extinction rate. Excessive hunting and trapping for commercial purposes also cause major problems.

As stated in the act, such species are of esthetic, ecological, educational, historical, recreation, and scientific value to the Nation and its people. Numerous species are medically or agriculturally significant because of their unique properties of traits. It cannot be predicted when a species might be predicted when a species might have provided are lost forever. J. Whitfield, Senior Research Ecologist and Professor of Zoology, Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, University of Georgia; Author of their Blood Runs Cold: Adventures with Reptiles and Amphibians (1983), contributed this article.